Calcutta HC refuses relief to Congress's Nandigram bypoll candidate in 2007 cases
Synopsis
Congress's Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan got no relief from the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday as Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya declined to intervene in five 2007 cases. With Pradhan already in judicial custody in two murder-linked cases and the bypoll just two weeks away, his arrest — hours after Mamata Banerjee's TMC faction announced support for him — has turned a decades-old legal matter into the defining flashpoint of the October 6 contest.
Key Takeaways
The Calcutta High Court on 22 September 2026 refused to grant interim protection to Milan Pradhan , Congress candidate for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll , in five cases from 2007 .
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya observed that no High Court direction was necessary in the five pending matters.
Pradhan remains in judicial custody in two separate cases: one until October 3 and another until October 5 ; he is due in district court on September 23 .
He was arrested on 18 September , hours after former CM Mamata Banerjee announced her TMC faction's support for him in Nandigram.
The state argued the arrest was part of a routine drive to execute long-pending non-bailable warrants before the bypolls.
The Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls are scheduled for October 6 , with counting on October 9 .
The single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, refused to intervene in a petition filed by Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the forthcoming Nandigram Assembly bypoll, who sought interim protection from arrest in five cases registered against him in 2007. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya observed that no direction from the High Court was necessary in those five matters.
Pradhan Already in Judicial Custody
Pradhan is currently in judicial custody in two separate cases following orders by a district court in West Bengal. In one murder case registered against him in 2007, he has been remanded to judicial custody until October 3. In a second case, the same court extended his custody until October 5. The district court judge also directed police to produce him physically before the court on September 23.
What Was Argued Before the High Court
Pradhan's counsel, Ayan Bhattacharya, argued before Justice Bhattacharyya that his client's arrest in a 19-year-old case, timed just ahead of the Nandigram bypoll, demonstrated an attempt by the state administration to destabilise the democratic process. The petition specifically sought protection from coercive police action, including arrest, in the five 2007 cases linked to the land acquisition movement in Nandigram during the Left Front regime led by the late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Countering this, state counsel and Additional Advocate General Rajdeep Majumdar maintained that Pradhan had been arrested pursuant to a routine directive to execute all long-pending non-bailable warrants ahead of the bypolls — and that there was nothing extraordinary or politically motivated about the action.
The Political Backdrop
Pradhan was arrested on the evening of 18 September, just hours after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her faction of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) would back the Congress candidate in Nandigram. Banerjee's announcement came shortly after her faction's own candidate, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, withdrew her nomination from the seat. The timing of the arrest has since become a flashpoint in the electoral contest.
Bypoll Schedule and What Comes Next
The Nandigram Assembly bypoll, along with the bypoll for Rejinagar Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, is scheduled for October 6, with vote counting on October 9. With Pradhan's custody now a central issue in the campaign, the legal proceedings are expected to continue shaping the political narrative in Nandigram in the days ahead. His next court appearance before the district court is set for September 23.
Point of View
And his counsel was right to raise it. Yet the state's defence, that the arrest merely executed long-standing non-bailable warrants, is not implausible either; pending warrants routinely go unserved until political pressure creates an incentive to act. The Calcutta High Court's refusal to intervene does not resolve that tension — it sidesteps it. What this episode exposes is a structural problem in West Bengal's electoral politics: old cases, accumulated over decades of violent land-acquisition disputes, sit dormant until they become useful instruments. Whether that utility is punitive or protective depends entirely on who holds power at the time.
NationPress
22 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Calcutta High Court refuse relief to Milan Pradhan?
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya declined to intervene in Pradhan's petition seeking protection from arrest in five 2007 cases, observing that no direction from the High Court was necessary. The brief hearing on 22 September 2026 ended without any interim relief being granted.
Why was Milan Pradhan arrested ahead of the Nandigram bypoll?
Pradhan was arrested on 18 September 2026 in connection with cases dating back to 2007, linked to the land acquisition movement in Nandigram during the Left Front government. State counsel argued the arrest was part of a routine directive to execute all long-pending non-bailable warrants before the bypolls, though Pradhan's legal team disputes the timing as politically motivated.
What is the current legal status of Milan Pradhan?
Pradhan is in judicial custody in two separate cases: one remand runs until 3 October and another until 5 October 2026. He is also due to be produced physically before the district court on 23 September.
What is the connection between Mamata Banerjee and the Nandigram bypoll?
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her TMC faction would support Congress candidate Milan Pradhan in Nandigram. Her announcement came after the faction's own candidate, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, withdrew her nomination. Pradhan was arrested just hours after this announcement.
When are the Nandigram and Rejinagar bypolls scheduled?
Both the Nandigram Assembly bypoll and the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll in Murshidabad district are scheduled for 6 October 2026, with vote counting on 9 October 2026.
